Portable case for fragile articles



(No Model.)

H. HAUS SMANN. I PORTABLE CASE FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES.

No; 440,633. Patented Nov. 18, 1890.

UNITED STATES HERMANN HAUSSMANN,

PATENT OEEIeE.

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PORTABLE CASE FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,633, dated November 18, 1890.

Application filed March 18, 1889. Serial No. 303,795. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMANN HAUSSMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in portable cases for conveying fragile articles such as glassware and other articles of adelicate frangible material liable to fracture by concussion-but more especially relates to physicians pocket-cases for carrying feverthermoineters and similar articles, which are necessarily composed of glass of delicate proportions, and liable to fracture when carried in the ordinary lined or padded cases in which they fit loosely, especially if the case is accidentally dropped or carelessly laid or tossed upon a table or like hard substance.

The prime object of this invention is to have the article suspended within the casing in such manner that while held against a free movement within the casing it is yieldingly supported therein so that the force of a concussion upon the casing will have the minimum effect upon the article contained therein.

Another object is to avoid contact between the rigid portion of the casing and the surface of a table, floor, or other object by providing the casing with end cushions of a peculiar character, whereby the force of a 0011- cussion, whether due to a direct blow or to the accidental dropping of the casing, will be transmitted in the minimum degree to the article contained therein. I attain these objects by the devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a physicians pocket-case embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a central longitudinal section thereof, showing a fever-thermometer contained therein; Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section thereof on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a similar section showing a modified form of the yielding lining of the casing, and Fig. 5 a detail transverse sectional view of the case-lining.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates a hollow cylindrical casing, preferably composed of gutta-percha, wood, or some similar infrangible material, made in two parts, as usual, and detachably connected together by a screw-threaded joint B, which enables the removal of the shorter portion A, which is employed in the nature of an end cap.

Upon the end of this case-that is, upon the end of each section A A thereof-is secured a rubber cap or head 0, hemispherical in contour, and provided with an annular rib or flange D next to the case,but of greater diameter than the case, so that when lying upon a table or other object these flanges,instead of the case itself, rest upon the table and thus support the case clear of the table. The objects of these rubber ends is to relieve the case of the jarring which would result were the case accidentally dropped upon the floor or carelessly tossed upon a table, and so would serve this purpose whether the case struck upon its end, its side, or at any angle, for while the hemispherical portions would take up an end concussion the flanges would take up any lateral concussion.

lVithin both sections of this case is secured by means of cement or otherwise a lining E, composed of a hollow cylindrical body provided with inwardly and radially projecting longitudinal ribs F, which terminate at equal distance from the center or axis of the case, leaving the center hollow and unoccupied, as shown in Fig. 5, for the reception of the feverthermometer G, which is designed to fit snugly within the hollow portion between the ribs and to be wholly supported and suspended thereby. These ribs are thin, flexible, and elastic while of sufficient strength to support the weight of the thermometer, and. at the same time are sufficiently flexible to readily yield to the force of a concussion, and thus diminish, if not entirely destroy, the force thereof upon the thermometer.

To aid in maintaining the thermometer in position and at the same time reduce the force of an end concussion the case is provided with end cushions H, of rubber or some similar material, which may or may not constitute a portion of the lining of the case.

The supporting-ribs of the lining may be of any desired number and shape or configuration, the form shown in Fig. 4 illustrating a variation from the preferred construction; but such variations are obviously too numerous to require illustration or description, for they will suggest themselves to the mind of any one skilled in the art.

While I have shown and described my invention in connection with a physicians pocket-case, I do not desire to limit myself to such use nor to the particular form herein shown, for obviously the form of the case might be varied without a departure from the spirit of my invention and might be adapted for conveying articles of various shapes and sizes, in fact, any article of a fragile nature and delicate proportions liable to fracture by a concussion upon the case containing the same.

Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a hollow'case, of

a series of elastic longitudinal ribs projecting inwardly and radially from the Walls thereof and elastic end caps provided with annular flanges of a greater diameter than said case, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a hollow case, of a series of longitudinal elastic ribs projecting inwardly and radially from the walls thereof, elastic end cushions within said case, and elastic end caps provided with annular flanges of a greater diameter than said case, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a sectional casing, of a lining therefor provided with longitudinal elastic ribs projecting inwardly and radially therefrom, end cushions within said case and constituting a portion of said lining, and end caps for each section of the case provided with annular flanges of a greater diameter than said case, substantially as described.

HERMANN I-IAUSSMANN.

Witnesses:

W. R. OMOHUNDRO, A. M BENNETT. 

